Constantine XI facts for kids

Constantine XI Palaiologos

Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Δραγάσης Παλαιολόγος, Kōnstantinos Dragasēs Palaiologos; 8 February 1405 – 29 May 1453) was the last Byzantine Emperor from 6 January 1449 to 29 May 1453. He was son of Manuel II Palaiologos and Helena Dragas.

Images for kids

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  Miniature from an early 15th-century manuscript depicting Constantine's father Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, his mother Helena Dragaš and his three older brothers John, Theodore and Andronikos

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  1422 map of Constantinople by catographer Cristoforo Buondelmonti, the oldest surviving map of the city

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  Ruins of the castle at Patras, captured by Constantine in 1430

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  Map of Byzantine Constantinople

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  Contemporary sketches by Pisanello of the Byzantine delegation at the Council of Florence. The figure mounted on the horse is Constantine's brother, Emperor John VIII Palaiologos.

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  The Despot's Palace in Mystras, from which Constantine ruled as Despot of the Morea 1443–1449

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  The Crusade of Varna, sent to aid the Byzantines against the Ottomans, was crushed by Sultan Murad II at the Battle of Varna (pictured) in 1444

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  Marble relief of a double-headed eagle in the Church of St. Demetrios in Mystras, marking the spot where Constantine XI was supposedly crowned

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  1/8 stavraton, minted 1448–1453. One of the last coins minted by the Byzantine Empire, the coin features a bust of Constantine XI (left) and Christ Pantocrator (right).

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  Constantine XI's seal as emperor

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  Portrait of Sultan Mehmed II by Gentile Bellini (1480)

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  The Rumelihisarı castle, seen from the Bosphorus strait

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  Cardinal Isidore of Kiev, sent as a papal legate to Constantinople in October 1452

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  Modern painting of Mehmed II and his army approaching Constantinople, by Fausto Zonaro (1903)

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  Restored section of the Walls of Constantinople

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  Modern painting of the Ottoman fleet being transported over land to the Golden Horn, by Fausto Zonaro (1903)

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  The Last Siege, French miniature by Jean Le Tavernier painted sometime after 1455

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  Romanticized depiction of the final fighting at the Fall of Constantinople by Greek folk painter Theophilos Hatzimihail (1932). Constantine is depicted as charging into battle on a white horse.

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  An icon of Constantine XI

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  19th-century depiction of Constantine XI with classical Greco-Roman armor

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  Statue of Constantine XI in Athens

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  Constantine XI as depicted in 1584 by André Thevet

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  The larger, waterfront statue of Constantine XI in Athens

See also

In Spanish: Constantino XI Paleólogo para niños